Graphite Golf Shaft
What will it do for me?

We run out and buy the latest and greatest club with a graphite golf shaft only to find out the harsh truth - it did not help at all. If we are honest with ourselves, most of the time, that club cost us distance and control. So what do we do, we hide it in a corner hoping that our significant other does not find it because then we would have to explain why the ultimate club has not made us a scratch golfer and put us on TV.

Okay, that may have just been me and it was 10 years ago, I am a wiser and better golfer today.

There is more to that shaft than most of us realize, here are some of the parameters that go into the design of a graphite golf shaft:

• Shaft Flex or Frequency (stiffness)
  
• Weight
  
• Kick Point
  
• Weight Distribution
  
• Installation (yes it makes a difference how it is installed)
  
• Shaft Length (my experience is that most of us play a shaft that is too long)

So what's missing? I know some of you have already picked up that I did not mention Torque. There is not a standard in the golf industry that I can find governing Torque. Torque is the shafts ability to resist twisting - each manufacturer supplies this information.

Changing any one of the six that I mentioned above will not only change the performance of the shaft, but also how it feels. As always, we are back to the same thing, if you are going to play your best with graphite golf shafts, you have to be custom fitted.

Why would you want graphite golf shafts in the first place (other than the above mentioned vision brought on by great marketing)?

Weight of course, and I am not talking about swing weight, I'm talking about total weight. When you stop to think that the average steel shaft weighs about 120 grams, (yes, I know steel shafts have gotten lighter in the last few years), and the average graphite iron shaft weighs around 80 grams, those 40 grams are huge as you get around hole #12 or #13 and fatigue sets in. Believe me fatigue is part of the game, even for those under 50.

One line of thinking says that the lighter clubs let you hit the ball further (you know the 300+ yd drive) because they are 1/2" longer than steel and therefore generate more club head speed. I'm not convinced; just remember flex is the same whether it is steel or graphite.

How do you choose when the price range is so broad? I really cannot help you choose which shaft is right for you until I know your level of play and do a proper fitting. Club head speed alone is not a custom fitting and that's why I use the Shaft Lab from True Temper.

I do know this, if you have a hard time breaking a 100, I would not recommend dropping a $100 or more on a shaft. That money would be better spent being fitted, taking a lesson, or given to your favorite charity, where it will do some good. Whatever you do don't put a high dollar shaft into the Aluminum Matrix Head you bought at your local discount store, the labor cost alone is going to be more than the head is worth.

Do your Homework, find a custom fitter and let him give you a tow as you drive down "The Fairway of the Confused".

Remember the shaft is the engine of your club, and the graphite golf shaft needs a little more tuning and golf club maintenance.

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